Judging adds controversy, confusion

ByJIM CAPLE
February 20, 2014, 7:12 PM

— -- SOCHI, Russia -- So how should the winner of an athletic competition be determined? By a panel of subjective figure skating judges who are always suspected of favoring one skater over another? Or by suddenly overhauling the rules with a sudden-death overtime in which you remove players from the ice or send them into a contrived shootout?

None of those systems is a wonderful method -- I prefer extra innings -- but I'll say this for the judging system. It definitely adds intrigue. This was certainly the case in the finals of the women's figure skating competition Thursday.

Entering Thursday's long program, less than a point separated reigning Olympic and world champion Kim Yu-na of Korea (74.93) and Russia's Adelina Sotnikova (74.64). The two both skated wonderfully. And when the judges' scores flashed on the board following Kim's routine, they showed that Sotnikova had won by 5.48 points -- 224.59 to 219.11.